Hearts In a Tangle
by Nftnat
Summary: I Miss You a Little, through the eyes of other Rugrats
1. Default Chapter

Hello again, folks. It's me, obviously. Sorry it's been taking me so long between chapters, but I've been working on something a little bit different but not really: this.   
Have you ever heard of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead? It was a play, later a movie, that took two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet and re-told the whole story from their perspectives. What follows here is something like that. Some of you have been following my fanfic I Miss You a Little; this is essentially the same story, only not from Tommy Pickles' p.o.v. Of course there will be some overlapping; some of what I'm covering here will also be covered there, some of the same lines and so forth. Imo reading IMYAL as well as this fic will give a more complete picture of what is happening and has happened. I hope y'all like it. Please let me know, y'know, the old read & review stuff. Thanks.   
  
  
To paraphrase an old Klingon saying, it was a good day to bury the dead. A beautiful day in July. Warm, but it was still early in the day; it was going to be one of those days that would steam those in restrictive clothes. Which would mean the funerals wouldn't be pleasant, physically as well as emotionally.   
A white limousine, the family car from the funeral home, had just departed the driveway of the house next door. One of the family, a young man with dark hair, had looked in the direction of the neighbors' house longingly, if briefly, before getting in.   
As soon as the limo was out of sight, from two different doors, emerged two brown-haired teenagers who could only have been siblings. Twins, even. And so they were. Lil and Phil Deville, in order of age.   
From their behavior as they milled around in front of their house, one might get the impression --- and rightly so --- that the two of them were waiting for something, that they were trying to not look at one another, and that they had somewhat of an interest in the house next door; they stole several glances each at the doghouse alone, which was devoid of its original tenant. Also the house across the street, which had been mostly vacant of late.   
  
They hadn't been out there for long, maybe three minutes, when the house behind them emptied as their parents also entered the outside, as it were.   
Howard, the harried househusband, walked to the passenger side of the family car and patiently waited. Waited for his strong-willed wife, who for the time being was more interested in their children. In her own unforgettable fashion, she wrangled the both of them in short order; she had something to say to them.   
"You pups will probably be seeing the Pickles before your father and I will; you'll tell them about the wake we have planned."   
Two nods were the response.   
"Good. Your father's worked hard on it."   
Said father now piped up. "You're sure you'd rather not go to the funeral with us?"   
If the twins had known that their heads would turn together they might have thought twice about moving at all, but they didn't. Phil, being just a few feet closer to his father than his twin, shook his head. "No sir. This is something we need to do; it's high time I started growing up."   
"Mm." he nodded in understanding and a bit of approval, if mixed with a tinge of frustration. Then his attention was arrested by something down the street. "Here they come."   
  
What he had noticed down the street, and approaching their position, was a family car, complete with family. The Finster family, to be precise.   
The senior Finsters were in the back seat; they wanted their now-driving-age son to have plenty of practice behind the wheel. Which was where Chuck was, with Kimi in shotgun.   
Kimi's mood seemed to meander back and forth between aloof, disinterested, disconnected, quietly upset, and one or two other emotions. The other Finsters displayed some measure of concern, an emotion which reflected on and in the faces of Howard & Betty Deville.   
Nothing was said as the car pulled up to the curb, until it stopped and the Finsters senior exited, turning to face the Devilles. The old college buddies were the first to break the silence.   
"Hello, Howard."   
"Hello, Chaz. Kira."   
"Howard. Betty."   
"Kira. Chaz."   
"Betty."   
"Mm.", which was somewhat reflected all around. This was an awkward moment between the four of them. Since the knockdown dragout involving their children things were a bit chilly between the Devilles and the Finsters. Only the longstanding friendship between Chaz and Howard preserved relations between the two families.   
After a prolonged and uncomfortable pause, Howard broke the silence. "So what now?"   
Chaz hesitated before responding. "I, guess we get in the car."   
  
What ensued included a spate of verbal instructions from elders to youngers, highlighted by advisories to watch what they say around the Carmichaels. Which went without saying as all knew that their Aunt T could go at any time, but it was said anyway.   
Finally the four elders were in the Devilles' car. Pulling out of the driveway, eight eyes were on their children, who were slowly converging on the Finsters' car. Sighs were heard.   
Kira was the first to speak. "It goes without saying that it is good to see the four of them together again, with the obvious caveats." Those caveats being that better circumstances would have been preferred, as would have been Tommy being with them as well. Like she said, they were obvious.   
More sighs were heard, and mutters of agreement.   
Betty, at the wheel, was next. "They'll get through this." she intoned, her gaze alternating between the Finsters' reflection in the rear view mirror and her husband at her side. "We all will."   
More agreement.   
Howard took his turn. "We raised some good kids."   
And more agreement.   
The talk stayed pretty much the same throughout their trip to the funeral home. Because it was typical small talk --- aimless, pointless, and mindless --- let us, for the sake of our collective sanities, leave that scene and refocus on the kids.   
  
As their parents were leaving, the four youngsters were situating themselves.   
As soon as the doors opened, Lil bolted for the back, much like her brother had done not too long before. Said brother knew where he belonged, up front in shotgun. That place had been occupied by Kimi, but she had taken the first opportunity to move behind her brother. So each sister had a seat to herself, while the brothers shared the front seat.   
As the car advanced toward the destination, the four young minds were curiously of one mind. None of them spoke, but their minds were in overdrive. All four were thinking of the same thing, the same incident, the last time the four of them had been together. When the group came apart.   
  
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"Hold on, Deville! We have some unfinished business."   
"I have nothing to say to you, Watanabe-Finster."   
"Yes you do. You owe me-"   
"Oh, get her. I owe YOU? I don't owe you anything!"   
"You owe me an explanation."   
"Forget it; I'm out of here."   
"Wait a second... Lil, you were yelling at me right off the bat. And then YOU started hitting on ME; I only fought back to protect myself. Why did you make me do this to you?"   
"I didn't make you kiss Tommy."   
"WHAT?! Is that what this is about?"   
"Yeah!"   
"And you, Phillip!"   
"What?"   
"Don't 'what?' me; I was listening; I heard what Tommy said. And you didn't deny it; you didn't do anything but confirm that it was true. Setting me up with Tommy so you'd have a chance with Kimi."   
"Now wait-"   
"YOU WHAT?! How could you, Phil!?"   
"Hold on!"   
"Using your own sister like that? And what does that say about your opinion of me? What do you think I am, a prize? A trophy? To the winner go the spoils, that sort of thing?"   
"No, no-"   
"I'll agree on the 'spoiled' part."   
"Who asked you?"   
"Um, actually she said 'spoils', not 'spoiled'."   
"Stay out of this, genius!"   
"Kimi? What's your problem with me?"   
"What is your problem with him?"   
"None of your business, Lil! But if you must know... oh, by the way, Chuck, Samantha called."   
"Kimi-"   
"Samantha? His girlfriend?"   
"Ex-girlfriend, as it turns out."   
"What?"   
"Kimi!"   
"When were you going to tell anyone? Why were you keeping it such a secret?"   
"Man, this even I can't believe. You break up with her and you don't tell your friends?"   
"You have no right to be lecturing anyone on how they treat their friends, Phillip! After everything else, then punching out Tommy-"   
"Wait, he punched out Tommy?"   
"Would you rather it had been the other way around?"   
"Now that was way out of line, Phil."   
"Oh, and that kiss wasn't?"   
"No more than you saving me for you."   
"You're stuck on that, aren't you?"   
"It's a big deal, Phil!"   
"Um, everyone? Just so you guys know, Dil doesn't want anything to do with us either."   
"He's siding with his brother?"   
"Not exactly. Not since he heard what Tom and I said to each other, what we did to each other. Especially after I attacked Tom."   
"You attacked Tommy?"   
"How could you?"   
"I'll chew him out about this, thank you."   
"He's my brother."   
"And Tommy's my boyfriend! Or are you going to try for him again?"   
"Will you get off of that?"   
"No!"   
"And why should she after you two betrayed us?"   
"Nothing you could possibly say is worthy of even acknowledging."   
"For once we agree."   
"You can say that again."   
"Chuck?!?"   
"I shouldn't have been pounding on Tom; I should have been pounding on you. After what you did to our sisters-"   
"Hey, I don't need anyone to defend me, especially someone whose life is one big fat state secret."   
"She has a point there."   
"Shut up, Phil. In fact, why don't all of you just shut up."   
"Big brother--"   
"Don't 'big brother' me; I've had it. I'm out of here!"   
"Wait, where are you going?"   
"Like anyone here cares about anyone but their own selfishnesses. Just out. I might be back or I might not."   
"But what about us, how are we going to get home? You're the only driver."   
"Frankly, Scarlett--"   
"Oh, shut up."   
"You know what? That's a great idea. Why don't we all just shut up, about everything."   
"Fine with me; you haven't been telling us anything anyway and noone else is worth talking with."   
*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP* *thump* *thump* *thump* ...   
"Now look what you've done."   
"Me?"   
"It was you who told him to shut up."   
"He said it first!"   
"You started the whole thing, when was it? Two, three years ago?"   
"That's right!"   
"Shut up, Kimi."   
"You shut up, Lil."   
"Excuse me, ladies --- and I use the term loosely --- maybe Chuck had the right idea. I'm out of here too."   
"Wait, what about us?"   
"Oh, now you're concerned. Well, I think we've established by now that I don't care about anyone but myself."   
"You are being sarcastic, right?"   
"Like anyone can tell anymore."   
"And like I said, I'm out of here."   
"All right, who needs you?"   
"Or you; I can get home myself."   
"Oh, and I can't?"   
"I give up; forget you."   
"Forget YOU!"   
"FORGET BOTH OF YOU!"   
"AH, SHUT UP!!!"   
  
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Such was the substance of what was on their collective minds as Chuck pulled up to the back door of the funeral home. Lil and Kimi exited and half-heartedly waited for their brothers as they watched the car maneuver to its assigned place in the funeral procession.   
Not a word passed between them.   
Phil had opted to remain in the car with Chuck. The redhead was all he had left of what had been, and that link wasn't the most stable.   
As the maneuvering continued, their thoughts went back to another time, not long after the final blowup.   
  
================================================================  
  
It had been a typical pleasant late spring day. Nowhere did this show better than in the park where two young men now approached each other with not a few misgivings on both parts.   
They took a footpath from opposite directions and met at a bench in front of a big tree. They stopped just on either side of the bench; about ten feet separated them. After minutes of nothing but looking at each other, they spoke.   
"Phil."   
"Chuck."   
and then more silence   
Silence finally broken by Deville. "All right, you asked for this meeting." He paused, as if for effect. "And we both know why." He crossed his arms in resignation and stuck his neck out, and not just physically. "Go on, Chuck. Take your best shot; I know I deserve it."   
Now it was Chuck's turn for silence as he fixed Phil in his stare, not saying anything. It unnerved Phil; whether that was Chuck's intention only he knew, and he wasn't saying. Finally...   
"Yes, you do."   
He then stepped toward his old playmate, taking slow, short, deliberate steps. He stopped within six inches of the young man's face, still staring at him.   
"But you're not going to get it."   
That caught Phil off guard; he had braced himself for the blow that now wasn't going to come. "What?"   
"Not from me, at least. I'm not going to hit you. And I'm not about to say 'like hell I'm not', either."   
"John Wayne." Phil smiled as he recognized the quote.   
Chuck signalled Phil's right answer by blinking before launching into what he'd come to say. "I ought to hate you after what you did, to your sister, to my sister, ultimately to the whole group. But I don't."   
Here he backed up, just far enough to stick his hand out. Phil, after finally registering Chuck's sort-of forgiveness, readily grasped it.   
Chuck continued. "I guess I got that out of my system fighting with Tommy."   
Phil nodded. "Yeah, me too."   
Chuck looked at him.   
"Almost." Phil sheepishly added.   
  
"You did tell Lil."   
"About your invitation?"   
nod   
*sigh* , "I tried to."   
"Let me guess, the freeze out continues?"   
"And the silent treatment."   
"Part and parcel, I know, same with Kimi.."   
"Yeah, I figured. You don't think it's a gender thing?"   
"I dunno. I mean, you and I weren't trying to kill each other back there."   
"True."   
"Do you think we might have, if we hadn't run into Tommy first?"   
"But you didn't! I was there when you found out what was what. You could have dealt with me then and there, but you went over to his place."   
"And am I ever regretting that. That might be part of why Kimi's not speaking to me, along with my secrecy, and the whole group thing."   
"Yeah. Say Chuck, why did you make it such a secret?"   
*sigh* "I dunno. As I've aged--"   
"Aged? You only have a year on the rest of us!"   
"Be that as it may, it seems I've found it easier to close off my life from the people who mean the most to me. Maybe my shyness and my need for privacy went into overdrive, I don't know."   
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."   
  
The two of them had been walking through the park for some time. Their detente established, they set about continuing to mend fences by doing what the group used to do: discuss anything and everything. It wasn't long, though, before Phil turned the conversation back to something --- I should say someone --- near & dear to his heart.   
"So, things are bad with Kimi, huh?"   
"You have no idea."   
"I might; Lil's going through it too, you know."   
"Right, I forgot. But Mom & Dad are worried about her. I mean, Kimi's always been so happy..."   
"And now it's like a 180."   
"Exactly. If she doesn't pull out of it soon..."   
"What?"   
"I don't want to think of it; Mom & Dad might call in a professional."   
"A psychiatrist?"   
"Yeah, and I don't want to have to go there. I mean, none of us has ever gone to a shrink."   
"Tommy did, but that was only because his mother insisted."   
"Right, I forgot that too. Well, that's Didi Pickles for you."   
"The overprotectiveness champion of Eucaipah."   
"Female division of course; my dad has the male version."   
"How'd you escape counselling, then?"   
"Maybe it was Mom; for sure Kimi had something to do with it, bringing me out of my shell. Not to mention my friends, present company included."   
Phil smiled. "Thanks, Chuck."   
"You're welcome. Let me rephrase what I was trying to say; none of us has ever needed psych counselling."   
"Except for me."   
"Haha again."   
"I'm not joking. Maybe some of my insanity rubbed off on Kimi."   
"And the punch line is?"   
"I'm serious, Chuck. I've been thinking about it and, well, I'd better be the first one to say that I wasn't good for her. I have to be first, because there's so many others willing to beat me to the punch."   
"So to speak."   
"Not necessarily. Is it possible for me to apologize enough for what I did to your sister?"   
"To me, yes. Um, unless you..."   
"Unless I what?"   
"Don't make me say it, Phil; just tell me. You didn't..."   
"Huh? Oh, OH! NO!! Chuck, I wouldn't, I couldn't!"   
"All right, I just needed to hear that."   
  
"Oh, by the way, Tommy's been behaving himself too, um, with regard to Lil that is."   
"With one notable exception."   
"You know what I mean."   
"Yeah, I do. You got that out of him before or after you pounded him?"   
"Before, and don't remind me. I just thought you should know."   
"Yeah, I appreciate that."   
"She doesn't deserve this, you know."   
"Lil?"   
"Yeah. I mean, she shouldn't have gone after Kimi like that, but she doesn't deserve what she's been going through."   
"Yeah."   
"That girl should be treated like a queen. You hear me, Phil? Like a queen!"   
"Like Angelica seems to take as her birthright?"   
"Phil, please, do you mind?"   
"Sorry, Chuck. *cough* *cough* Chuck, I had no idea you felt that way about my sister."   
"What way? I see class when I look at her, and class should be handled as such. The best deserves the best."   
"So you do think she's the best."   
"I dunno, maybe. Maybe it's the rebound talking."   
About this time Chuck trailed off in his dialogue. His steps slowed as well, and his face took on a look of recognition as he apparently saw something in a certain part of the park.   
Phil noticed. "What is it?"   
"This is where Tommy & I broke up that time."   
"Which time?"   
"That time we first met Freddy & Sam."   
"Oh, right."   
Now it was Phil's turn for recognition. "Hey, do you remember that place?"   
Chuck looked. "Should I?"   
"I guess not, but I certainly do. It's where that guy Taffy was interested in got me so interested in trash collecting I abandoned the group."   
"Oh yeah."   
"I really appreciated you guys taking me back."   
"Yeah yeah, sure sure, no problem. Hm, we took you back, Tommy & I got back together after we learned to appreciate our differences, it seems every time there's been a rift we've been able to put it back together."   
Chuck was thoughtful now, as was Phil. "True. I hope we haven't gone too far this time."   
"Me too. We never took it this far before, though."   
  
================================================================  
  
"Hey!"   
"Huh?"   
"We can get out any time now."   
"Oh. Sorry, Chuck, just let me unfasten this thing..."   
  
The car was parked now, and Chuck and Phil started the long march back to the back door of the funeral home, where hopefully their sisters were waiting for them; the mood those two had been in lately you couldn't really know. Partly out of curiosity, partly to pass the time, Chuck struck up a conversation.   
"So, you looked a million miles away there."   
"More like a couple."   
"Were you thinking what I was thinking?"   
"That day at the park last month?"   
"That's it. Where did you leave off?"   
"Just before we ran into Mac & the lads, again."   
"Ah, yes. Nice of Clan MacDougal to take us in."   
"Yeah. Honorary members, as the Clan of the Duck."   
"It's nice being part of something without the others, isn't it?"   
"Mm-hmm. Without Tommy, you mean."   
"Maybe. I don't know but that it might be part of why you and I were the first to work things out."   
"Could be."   
"That's all you have to say about it?"   
"Well, they still make the best haggis I ever had."   
"The only haggis you've ever had."   
"Not true. One of the lads pointed out to me the bonniest wee Scottish restaurant."   
"You're kidding! And stop talking like one of them."   
"Nae! And I'm serious. This is the L.A. area; there's places around here from every country on the globe, must be."   
"I know, but Scottish?"   
"There they are."   
  
Phil had succeeded in changing the subject again. He had been the first to notice that Kimi & Lil had indeed waited for their brothers.   
"Took you long enough." Lil muttered, surprising the guys as this was the first they'd heard from the girls.   
Chuck soon recovered. "Well, it's a long procession. Lou Pickles was a good man, and pretty much everyone liked him."   
"Anyway, it was my fault we took so long." Phil put in.   
"Why are we not surprised." Kimi was overheard saying.   
By then Chuck --- ever the gentleman --- was holding the door open for the girls. It was an invitation they took, leaving Chuck outside with Phil for the moment.   
As they followed their sisters...   
"Is it my imagination, or did they just speak?"   
"They spoke! Kimi even referred to the both of them; she said 'we'."   
"That's good, right?"   
"Anything is a good sign; at least they're talking again."   
By then they too were inside. While it would be misstating things to say that they weren't as sad as before, they at least had a bit of hope to hold on to.   
  
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And so begins yet another series; think I'll manage to keep all these balls in the air at once? We'll see. Like I said, please r&r. I'm Nftnat, on e-mail I'm Nftnat@aol.com , and on IM I'm Nftnat . Lemme know what y'all think. Thanks and stay tuned. 


	2. Chapter 2

It's been years since I've posted a chapter of this story, which only has one chapter so far.

Will anyone remember?

Is anyone going to care?

Should they?

Should I?

Well, whether or not I should care, I do, and here goes nothing, as in here goes the next chapter. Hopefully someone will read this, hopefully someone who read the first chapter, although I wouldn't blame anyone for ignoring it. I did; this chapter was completed over two years ago. Well, like I said, here goes nothing.

First, the usual acknowledgments of the reviewers.

Chelsi: Well, I'm glad that you do get what you get, and I'm glad that you're interested.

Lil Kimi: I think you get what I'm going for here. You're one of the top authors of Rugrats fics on ff.n, and your opinion is one of those I value the most. I'm going to get back to work on the other stories too; Chapter 6 of I Miss You a Little is on the same disk as this chapter. Catch you around.

Wicked Wonder: I finally added another chapter, but it can by no stretch of the imagination be called soon. Thanks for understanding about multiple series.

Rugrats, All Grown Up, and all related characters and concepts are copyright Klasky-Csupo and Nickelodeon, a unit of Viacom.

Daniel Boone, Jackie Chan, Marshall Faulk and Norman Rockwell are copyright themselves.

The Air Force Academy, Operations Desert Shield & Desert Storm, and ROTC are copyright the government of the United States.

The Hollywood Hills, Lake Michigan and the Persian Gulf are public domain, I think.

Chuck's hand was still on the door handle, the door itself as yet slightly ajar, when he heard two voices from outside; one sweet, one slightly gruff, and both dearly familiar to him.

"Wait for us, sweetheart!"

"You might want to hold that door open, Chuckie."

As if he hadn't instantly recognized their voices, Chuck knew who it was from that name, a name that only two people in all the world used in referring to him anymore now that he was a teenager.

It was them. Marvin Finster had survived the years in pretty good health; his only noticeable handicap was the stooped shoulders and back characteristic of the aged. Other than that, he walked proudly, his head held high.

The same could not be said for his wife. Since her stroke two years previous, Shirley Finster chose to confine herself to a wheelchair when she ventured outside, which wasn't often. Her husband had lately been lobbying her to switch to a walker, but one might be excused from surmising from their rapport with each other that he wouldn't be anywhere other than exactly where he was, pushing her wheelchair for her, supporting his wife as he had done over the decades.

As Chuck held the door open and smiled for the late arrivals, he knew there was something he had to do or he'd really be in trouble with his sister; and with what was already going on he didn't want to find out what that entailed.

"Kimi, you might want to come here for a minute!" he called as loudly as he dared.

Fortunately the girls were but a few yards away, around a corner. Kimi had re-rounded that corner in seconds, trailed by a morbidly curious Lil.

"What is it, Chu- GRAMMA GRAMPA!"

But for the doorway and the door, Kimi might have injured her adopted grandparents in her haste to embrace them. As it was, her brother managed to delay her just enough to minimize any impact.

The reunion of the two teenagers with their grandparents brings a number of things to mind: cloying, treacly, maudlin, saccharine, Norman Rockwell-ian, just plain sentimental; hey, what happened happened.

The twins looked on from a distance. They felt uncomfortable, although not for the above reasons. The discomfort, though, was presently put aside as before husband wheeled wife on into the depths of the funeral home both Phil and Lil got at least one hug each from each grandparent.

As the senior Finsters were fading from view, and the youngsters were forming up to go inside, a question occurred to Phil.

"Say Chuck, I've been thinking..."

"That's good; I've learned that trying new things can be pretty-"

"Chuck!"

Separately, Lil and Kimi both smiled at their brothers' situation. They did, that is, until each noticed the other's smile. Both girls then looked away.

"Seriously, your name is the same as your father's, right?"

"Yeah, we're both named Charles, technically. At least that's what it says on both of our birth certificates. What of it?"

"Well, your middle names are different, right? I mean I heard his is Norbert, while you're Charles Crandall the Third, right?"

"Y- yeah."

"So what's the deal?"

"Well..."

"If it's another secret, that's okay..."

"No, it's not really a secret. It's just something that doesn't come up. It's kind of painful."

"Well, if you'd rather not talk about it..."

"I'd really rather not, but I'll talk about it anyway." Somewhere in the back of Chuck's mind, some part of his subconscious wanted the group to reconcile, and seized on the sharing of this family non-secret as a means to that end. "I warn you, though, it's a long story."

Kimi checked her watch. "The funeral doesn't really start for a half hour yet."

Her brother nodded with just a little bit of resignation. "All right, let's grab that bench there and I'll tell you all about it."

And so they did; those funeral homes have the occasional bench, and they just happened to be passing one at the time anyway. So started the telling of the history of the Finster family. To keep this recounting of that recounting from dragging on too long, I'll spare you the questions, put-ins, and other interruptions. Well, most of them at least.

"Well, first of all, there's my name. Of course I'm Charles Crandall Finster the Third, so it

follows that there was a First and a Second, or a Senior and Junior.

"Charles Crandall Finster Sr. was our Grandpa's brother, his big brother. From what I hear he was the ultimate big brother, in a good way. Grandpa looked up to him more than Dil ever looked up to Tommy, and with good reason.

"You might have overheard some stuff about Grandpa being tough, rugged, a real he-man. I know I've heard that line about tossing Dad into Lake Michigan with just some dry toast, although I'm not sure I believe it. Well, Great-uncle Charles was everything that his little brother ever wanted to be. Football hero, war hero, boxer, martial artist, outdoorsman, a genuine superman, kind of like Daniel Boone meets Jackie Chan crossed with Marshall Faulk.

"In due course, he got married, about the same time that Grandpa married Grandma. Her name was Stacy. They stayed out here while our branch of the family moved out to the Midwest for a decade or two, so neither couple knew that the other was expecting.

"Grandpa was determined to name his firstborn after his hero, his big brother. The 'Charles' was already on the birth certificate when the phone call happened - I'm not sure who called whom, but they found out that Charles Crandall Finster Jr. had already been born. It was too late to change the first name, so they gave Dad a different middle name: 'Norbert', after Grandma's family.

"Our branch of the family moved back here when Dad was just a kid, and then he got acquainted with his cousin and half-namesake. It was hero-worship all over again, and for about the same reason. Cran - that's what they called him - was his father's son.

"He excelled in his studies as well as in high school sports. He was also in ROTC with an aim toward enrolling in the Air Force Academy, which is exactly what he did. He graduated sometime in the '80's as a first lieutenant. By the end of the decade he was a captain in command of a squadron.

"Then that trouble started in the Persian Gulf; it was around the time that I was on the way."

(A/N: I said that I'd skip most of the interruptions to Chuckie's story. That ends now, because now the interruptions actually contribute something.)

"In late 1990, Captain Cran Finster's unit was one of the first to be activated and sent to the Gulf for Desert Shield." Chuck was saying.

"And then Desert Storm." Lil tried to contribute.

Surprising the others, Chuck shook his head. "No, not exactly.

"The bombing started on January 17, 1991. On January 16, my great-uncle Charles & great-aunt Stacy got a couple of visitors. Two Air Force officers. They had a letter with them, from the government. The kind that begins: 'We regret to inform you...'"

As the full impact of that statement sunk in, the girls gasped and Phil hung his head in silent grieving.

Chuck continued. "It was one of those training accidents; we never found out the details, nor did we really want to. Even before that happened my parents were going to name me after him; they just took that as confirmation that the name Charles Crandall Finster had to live on. So that's how I got my name."

No one else spoke a word, although there was the occasional sob. Then Phil broke the silence.

"Someone once said in a movie that no one should have to outlive their own child."

Chuck grimaced; the sad story was not over yet.

"Well, they didn't miss it by much.

"It was right after my mother died, around six months after they'd lost their son. They lived up in the Hollywood hills. You might have heard about the wildfires that tore through there about that time?"

"You don't mean...?" Kimi was afraid to venture.

Chuck nodded. "Took their house, and the two of them in it."

Now there was open weeping, appropriate for the time & place, and yet so much deeper.

"That was when Grandpa & Grandma moved to Eucaipah. They, Dad and I were all that was left of the family. I guess the thinking was that if we were doomed, we might as well all go together. It did do them some good to see that Dad & I had some good friends, and to touch base with peers like Boris & Minka, and Lou."

He then turned to his sister. "You don't know what it meant to them when Dad got married again, and you & Mom came into our lives. It was like a new lease on life for the whole family."

That pushed Kimi over the edge; she lost it. The next few minutes she spent crying in her brother's arms. On Chuck's other side Phil watched the scene, mute and morose as on his other side his twin held her hands in front of her face so that no one would see her cry.

When Kimi finished, Chuck sensibly acted the part of the good big brother. He let go as soon as he thought she wanted him to, and handed her a couple of tissues so she could fix her face. When she'd composed herself, he spoke again.

"And that's the story of our family, basically; at least, the current three generations. We already found out about the family before that, for that school project, remember?"

Kimi nodded, remembering the hornet's nest the family tree project had stirred up but choosing to not mention that.

Chuck finished. "Just before the Pickles found out Dil was on the way, Dad did his own family tree project. After all the tragedy in current generations, he was determined to find out what came before. So my part of the family tree project was easy."

With the story over, there was nothing else to say. Taking the lead, Chuck stood.

"If everyone's ready, I guess we should find our seats."

There were murmurs of agreement as the others moved to stand. Chuck held his hand out, and Kimi let him pull her up. She had one question left, though. As the walk started, she voiced it where only he could hear. And she dared to address him by the name he'd long since abandoned, a right which every sibling claims and on occasion uses.

"Chuckie? Why wasn't I ever told any of this?"

"You never asked, I guess."

"Don't be flippant."

"I'm not. I asked Mom about it once; something told me I shouldn't ask Dad. It turned out that he'd told her once, and that had been enough for him. Then she told me once, and that was enough for me.

"Maybe it's a family tradition that just hasn't been around for that long: you only hear it once, and you only tell it once. I know I'll never tell it again."

She nodded acceptance as the bench and the twins fell behind them.

Sort-of alone for a minute, Phil dared to speak to his twin for the first time in many a day.

"There might be hope for the group yet."

"Hmm."

With the lack of a definite negative from Lil, Phil took a breath, readying himself to attempt a reconciliation.

"Look, Lil, I'm really sorry for what I did, and I want more than anything for all of us to be friends again. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

"Hmm."

Taking another deep breath, Phil took the biggest chance he could remember having taken lately.

"I really mean it. I want more than anything for all of us to be friends again, to be your brother again. Will you at least think about it? Please, Lillian?"

But answered she never a word as she started fast-walking to catch up with the Finsters. Sighing, Phil brought up the rear, comforting himself with what slim chance he could find in her conduct.

"Well, I didn't hear a 'no'..."

So we go to the funeral, but there are others to hear from first. Who? You'll have to wait until next time to find out. I'll try not to take years to post the next chapter; maybe months. We'll see. Until then, and after that as well, I'm Nftnat.


End file.
